Dragon's Curse: a Reverse Harem Fantasy Romance (The Dragon's Gift Trilogy Book 3)

by Jasmine Walt

“Thank the gods,” Alistair said. He leaned forward in his chair, his eyes bright with interest. “Who are the visitors?”

  “Cyra Lannen, Tildy Learman, and Gilma Halfast,” the steward said. “All hailing from Hallowdale.”

  “Cyra,” Drystan repeated. “I believe she was one of the Chosen, was she not?”

  “Yes, and the other two are Dareena’s friends,” Alistair said eagerly. “Dareena said she wrote to Cyra asking her to come and serve as a lady-in-waiting. I’m not sure why she brought the other two—perhaps they merely want to visit her.”

  Drystan ordered the three women to be brought into his office. They entered and curtsied deeply as the steward introduced the three. Cyra was a willowy redhead, fair of face and dressed in a velvet blue gown, while Tildy was shorter, her face framed by blonde curls, and her rounder, curvier figure hidden by a simple muslin dress. The third woman, Gilma, was old and stooped, with gray hair. She was also blind, Drystan noted with some sympathy.

  “Welcome to Dragon’s Keep,” Drystan said once the introductions were made and they were seated. “What can I do for you?”

  “I am responding to a letter Dareena sent, offering me a position as her lady-in-waiting,” Cyra said. She handed over the letter, which was indeed written in Dareena’s own hand. “I have had several suitors since returning home to Hallowdale, but none that I particularly fancy, so I have decided to accept the position if it is still available.”

  “It is,” Drystan confirmed. “Dareena will be delighted by this news. And although I am sure she will be very happy to see the two of you,” he said, turning to Tildy and Gilma, “I must confess I am a bit confused as to your presence.”

  “We came along because we are worried about Dareena,” Tildy said. “When she told us that Lyria Hallowdale had been chosen as one of her ladies-in-waiting, we were almost certain that she had been planted there by an enemy.”

  “That woman has always had it out for Dareena,” Gilma said in a quavering voice. “I wouldn’t be surprised at all if she was planning on murdering her as vengeance for taking her spot.”

  “Where is Dareena?” Cyra asked, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. “I am very pleased to finally meet you face to face, my princes, but I expected to be meeting with her, not just you.”

  “Dareena has been confined to her quarters,” Drystan said. “She murdered Rantissa, one of her ladies-in-waiting, yesterday.”

  The women gasped, near-identical expressions of horror and disbelief on their faces.

  “That’s impossible,” Tildy protested hotly. “Dareena would never take another person’s life.”

  “She might in self-defense,” Cyra said thoughtfully. “Was there any evidence that Rantissa was trying to harm her?”

  “No,” Drystan said, “and Dareena herself said she did it because the woman was supposedly stealing something from her.” He shook his head, exasperated. “It is impossible to separate the truth from the fiction at this point, but we do know for certain that a woman is dead.”

  “I wish I had been able to come sooner,” Cyra said, shaking her head. “It took far too long to convince my parents to let me travel, though I can’t blame them in these times of unrest.”

  “I have no doubt in my mind that Dareena is acting out against her will,” Gilma said firmly. “Dareena was the only person in Hallowdale who cared for me—she came to see me almost every day, and made sure that I had enough food and water and my clothes were washed. She even took me on walks every week to ensure I got enough exercise. That woman has a heart of gold.”

  “And the patience of a saint,” Tildy added. “I remember all too well how the men at the tavern liked to paw at her. She was always firm with them, but never rude. Of course, the innkeeper had designs on her, so she never truly had to worry about any of them, but still. I don’t think she would have taken a knife to anyone unless she felt she had no choice. She is far too nice.”

  Alistair smiled. “We know that very well. That is why we love her so much.”

  “She is very lucky to have all three of you as her mates,” Cyra said. “I must admit I was a bit shocked when I first heard of it, but I noticed the way all three of you looked at her at the ball. It is obvious the four of you belong together.”

  Drystan felt a pang of guilt as he listened to Alistair and the women talking. Their words brought his own memories of Dareena to the forefront, and he felt ashamed for letting his anger get the better of him. Of course Dareena couldn’t mean any of the things she’d done and said recently. She needed his help, not his scorn.

  Another knock came at the door, and this time it was Lyria. “My princes—” she said, and then stopped short at the sight of Cyra. “Oh, it’s you. Have you come to take my place, then?”

  “Are you saying you deserve to be let go?” Cyra asked harshly. She rose from her chair, her eyes hard as she pinned Lyria with a fierce look. “The princes were just telling me all about Dareena’s strange behavior. What have you done to her?”

  “I’ve done nothing,” Lyria protested, putting her hands up in a gesture of peace. “It is not my fault that the Dragon’s Gift has developed an unusually sharp tongue and a taste for murder. Besides, I may not get along with Lady Dareena, but she is the Dragon’s Gift and carries the heir to the throne. I would never harm her.” She glared at everyone in the room. “In fact, I came in here to speak to you about that. If Dareena truly is not in her right mind, it is unreasonable to expect her ladies to attend to her alone. What if she tries to murder one of us next? I can defend myself just fine, but Soldian would not be able to withstand a fly if it had murderous designs on her.”

  “That is a good point,” Drystan said.

  “It doesn’t seem that Soldian is very worried,” Alistair said. “She was sleeping next to Dareena when I came to visit her last night.”

  Lyria scoffed. “She is a nitwit, and far too trusting.”

  “Why don’t we bring Dareena in here,” Cyra suggested, “and see how she reacts to seeing us? If she is truly still in control, she will be happy that I have answered her summons.”

  “Excellent idea,” Drystan said. He sent Lyria off with a pair of guards to fetch Dareena.

  While they waited, Alistair told the women of his suspicions, and that he had gone to visit the oracle for guidance. Dareena’s friends agreed vehemently with Alistair that Dareena must be under the influence of some spell—it was the only thing that explained her actions.

  Twenty minutes later, the door opened, and Dareena came in, Soldian at her side. “What is the meaning of this?” she demanded. “This is an ungodly hour to have guards come to my door and drag me out of my bed. Don’t you two dolts know that I am pregnant? I need my rest!”

  “Dareena!” Cyra exclaimed, sounding absolutely scandalized. “How can you talk to the princes like that?”

  “And not even say so much as a hello to us,” Tildy added, her cheeks coloring as she rose. “After we’ve come all this way to see you? Even poor Gilma made the journey!”

  Dareena raked them all with a scathing look. “I do not know who the three of you are, but I have no time to deal with commoners,” she said. “I demand you leave at once.”

  A dead silence filled the room. “That does it,” Alistair said as the others exchanged knowing glances. “She is definitely under a spell.”

  “Or she is an imposter,” Cyra said, coming closer to Dareena. “The real Dareena would have never failed to recognize her friends.” She grabbed Dareena by the shoulders. “Come clean now. Who are you, and what have you done with my friend?”

  32

  “Get your hands off me!” Dareena shouted, shoving Cyra back. She felt terrible that Soldian forced her to lash out at her friend, but at the same time, joy sang through her heart. They were finally figuring it out! Even Drystan no longer seemed angry at her—he just looked at her with sympathy, as if he finally understood how tortured she was by all of this.

  She was even more relieved when the door banged open agai
n and Lucyan came in. “What is all this shouting about?” he demanded, his gaze sweeping the room. “And who are all these people?”

  “These are friends of Dareena’s from Hallowdale,” Alistair explained hastily as he grabbed Dareena to keep her from striking Cyra again. “We believe that Dareena has been afflicted by some sort of spell. She has been spewing hateful lies at us the past few days, and she killed one of her ladies-in-waiting.”

  The blood drained from Lucyan’s face. “That definitely sounds like she is under someone’s influence,” he said. “Have you checked her for any warlock charms or amulets?”

  “I did so last night,” Alistair confirmed.

  “Let me try,” Lucyan said. He swept the contents of Drystan’s desk on the floor, then had him lay Dareena on the desk. Dareena’s heart pounded as they stripped her down to her underthings, and Lucyan ran his hands all over her body, doing a thorough inspection.

  “Get off me!” Dareena screamed as Soldian forced her to resist, thrashing her arms and legs. The other two princes held her down while Lucyan searched her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Soldian slowly inching toward the door.

  Please, please don’t let her escape.

  “Found it!” Lucyan cried, his hand clamping around the bracelet. He pulled it off, and Dareena immediately sprang to her feet. She summoned her light whip and flung it at Soldian, who cried out as the whip burned through her clothing, leaving a trail of burning red flesh through the front of her dress.

  “Dareena!” Alistair cried in alarm, grabbing her arm before she could strike again. “What are you doing?”

  “It’s been her all along,” Dareena said in a trembling voice, yanking her arm from Alistair’s. “She put that bracelet on me and forced me to do and say all those terrible things.”

  “Poor you,” Soldian sneered, whipping two daggers out from beneath her skirts. They gleamed in the light, and Dareena could clearly see the runes shimmering along the edges of the blades. “Now let me leave in peace, or I will end your life right here.”

  “Careful,” Lucyan said in a low voice. “I recognize those daggers. They are spelled to always find their target no matter how bad the wielder’s aim, and the smallest scratch is fatal.”

  “Very good, princeling,” Soldian cooed, her eyes gleaming. “You might just be the most intelligent person in this room. Of course, we’ve never tested these on dragons, but they should work perfectly well against Dareena, since she is a mere human.” She cocked her head to the side, looking thoughtful. “Perhaps I should kill you anyway. There is enough time to take at least two of you out. The question is, which two deserve to live the least?”

  “If you kill any of us,” Lucyan said tersely, “you will not escape. Surely this mission is not worth your life.”

  Soldian opened her mouth to answer, but just then, Lyria flung the door open. She plunged a dagger into the warlock spy’s back before she could react. Soldian screamed, whirling around as Lyria yanked the dagger from her back, but the dragon born was faster, and she ducked, avoiding Soldian’s wild strike. She plunged the dagger into her heart, then swept her legs out, knocking her to the ground.

  “I thought I’d listen from outside,” she said with a shrug when they all stared at her. “In case things got out of hand.”

  “Thank the gods you did,” Dareena said fervently. She leapt over Soldian’s dead body and wrapped Lyria up in a bone-crushing hug. “I never thought I would be this glad to see you in my life.”

  Lyria laughed awkwardly. “You’re welcome,” she said, returning the hug.

  “We are in your debt,” Lucyan said, inclining his head. The other brothers agreed vehemently, and Cyra apologized for accusing Lyria, who merely shrugged. Lyria was being remarkably humble about all this, Dareena noted. Perhaps she truly had changed.

  “Now that you are free, we really ought to get you back into your clothes,” Cyra said. She removed her traveling cloak and placed it around Dareena, then gently dragged her away from the dead body on the floor. “I would never have guessed she was a spy. Do you know where she came from?”

  “Shadowhaven,” Dareena said. “And she was not the only one. Rantissa was an assassin, sent by Prince Arolas to murder my unborn child.”

  “Is that why you killed her?” Drystan asked. “Because you found out the truth?”

  Dareena laughed. “No. Soldian killed her. She came upon us when Rantissa was trying to murder me, though I think Rantissa might have actually been about to stop her attack. When I didn’t move or speak, she began to suspect something was wrong, and I think she was starting to soften to me after seeing the way I handled the elven delegation.”

  Lucyan shook his head. “It appears as though I’ve missed a lot,” he said, pulling Dareena into his arms. “Gods, I am so glad I got here when I did.”

  “You saved me,” Dareena said, wrapping her arms around Lucyan. She kissed him deeply, tears of happiness and relief springing to her eyes as he ardently returned her embrace. His scent seeped into her, bringing her comfort and joy, and if not for the audience, she might never have let him go.

  “Let’s get this mess taken care of and go somewhere more comfortable to talk,” Lucyan suggested, setting her down. He crouched down beside Soldian’s dead body to search her while Dareena embraced her friends.

  “I am so happy the three of you came,” she said. “Cyra, Tildy, and even Gilma! You didn’t have to travel all this way.” She squeezed Gilma’s hand. “It must have been very hard on you.”

  Gilma smiled, her milky gaze finding Dareena’s even though she could not see. “There is very little that would have kept me away,” she said, “and besides, Tildy is my caretaker. We had to go together.”

  “I refused to leave without her,” Tildy said. “As much as I wanted to see you, I made you a promise that I would take care of her. But Gilma wouldn’t hear of it, so she insisted that she would come along so I would not have to stay behind.”

  The three of them chatted for a bit, filling her in on all that had happened since Dareena had left. It turned out that Tildy had a new beau, and Cyra had been inundated with marriage offers upon her return to Hallowdale. Dareena was surprised when Cyra told her she had not accepted a single one—some of them were from very wealthy and handsome nobles and merchants.

  “I have decided that handsome is not enough these days,” Cyra said gaily when Dareena protested her lack of a decision. “After hearing you fell in love with not one but all three of your suitors, I have decided I shall not marry a man unless I feel a deep and unwavering affection for him, and that he returns it.”

  “I suppose I cannot argue with that.” Dareena laughed. “Though please, do not mention it to the council. If they hear that my relationship with the princes is already beginning to influence women, they will start protesting the wedding all over again.”

  “I don’t care how loudly they protest,” Drystan growled, wrapping his arms around her from behind. Cyra and Tildy giggled when he kissed her neck. “There is no force in this world that could stop us from being married.”

  Dareena sighed happily as she leaned against Drystan. “I am so glad you are not angry at me anymore. The things I said to you—”

  “Have already been forgotten,” Drystan said. “I should have known better than to take them to heart. Any fool could have seen that you were not yourself. I am the king of all idiots.”

  Alistair laughed. “Don’t be so dramatic,” he said, cuffing Drystan on the head.

  “It’s a bit late to tell him that,” Lucyan said, getting to his feet, his arms laden with gadgets. “Our brother has had a flair for the dramatic since he came out of the womb.”

  “Like you are one to talk,” Drystan snapped. “You were practically made for the theater, Lucyan, the way you prance about.”

  “Did you really take all this off this little woman’s person?” Alistair asked as Lucyan dumped the items on Drystan’s desk.

  Lucyan nodded. “Warlock spies are very ade
pt at concealing their weapons and tools,” he said. “Come have a look at her now.”

  They all crowded around Soldian’s body. “By the gods,” Cyra gasped as they stared. “She looks completely different.”

  “Her face finally matches her character,” Dareena murmured. Without the disguise charm, Soldian was a hard-featured woman of about thirty, with a fuller figure and much lighter hair. She could hardly believe this was the same sweet-faced girl who had been following her around, doting on her hand and foot and giving her massages. She shuddered as she looked at the woman’s hands, which were thinner, the fingers longer and calloused, likely from weapons training.

  She lifted her gaze to Alistair. “You need to start bringing me to the training room for lessons.”

  “I will,” he promised. “As often as I can manage.” He put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her against him. “You have gotten awfully good with that magic whip, but I would feel better if you were trained in the physical fighting arts as well.”

  “But her pregnancy—” Drystan protested.

  “Will not be affected, so long as he is careful,” Lucyan reminded him. “Dragon babes are made of sterner stuff than humans. Still, you ought to consult with your midwife.”

  “I will,” Dareena said. She put a hand to her mouth, affecting a yawn. “I believe I would like to rest now. All of this terrible business with Soldian has left me quite exhausted. Would the three of you escort me back to my rooms?”

  “We would be most happy to, my lady,” Lucyan said, taking Dareena’s arm in his. “Have you ladies been settled in yet?” he asked Cyra and the others.

  “No, but I am sure the steward will be more than happy to help us with that,” Cyra said. She and Tildy exchanged knowing looks. “We are feeling a bit peaked as well—perhaps we will rest now and join you for dinner tomorrow?”

  “I would love that,” Dareena said, beaming.

  Drystan ushered her out the door. “I’ll make the arrangements.”

  The princes crowded around her, and the air hummed. The scorching looks in their eyes left absolutely no doubt in Dareena’s mind as to her mates’ intentions, and she found her steps quickening.